_Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ
Jesus._
THE CONNECTION
Οὐν points back to the defection of others, contrasting it with
what St. Paul is satisfied will prove The faithfulness of Timothy.
(_H. R. Reynolds, D. D._)
IMITATE THE LOYAL
It is as though he said, Imitat... [ Continue Reading ]
_The things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses commit to
faithful men, able to teach others also._
HOW THE CHURCH IS TO BE CONTINUED
I. CARE IS TO BE HAD THAT THE CHURCH MAY BE CONTINUED. Art thou a
ruler in Christendom, like Jehosaphat? Send Levites into the dark
corners of the land.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Endure hardness as a good soldier._
THE CHRISTIAN SOLDIER
Every Christian, and especially every Christian minister, may be
regarded as a soldier, as an athlete (2 Timothy 2:5). as a husbandman
(2 Timothy 2:6); but of the three similitudes the one which fits him
best is that of a soldier. Even if... [ Continue Reading ]
_No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this
life._
ROMAN SOLDIERS
were not allowed to marry or to engage in any husbandry or trade; and
they were forbidden to act as tutors to any person, or curators to any
man’s estate, or proctor in the cause of other men. The general
princi... [ Continue Reading ]
_Not crowned, except he strive lawfully._
LAWFUL STRIVING
The athlete who competes in the games does not receive a crown, unless
he has contended law fully,_ i.e._, according to rule
(νομίμως νόμος). Even if he seem to be victorious, he
nevertheless is not crowned, because he has violated the wel... [ Continue Reading ]
_The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits._
THE LABORING HUSBANDMAN
The order of the Greek shows that the emphatic word is “labours.”
It is the labouring husbandman who must be the first to partake of the
fruits. It is the man who works hard and with a will, and not the on... [ Continue Reading ]
_Consider what I say, and the Lord give thee understanding._
REFLECTION AIDS DISCERNMENT
The better rendering gives, “For the Lord will give thee.” This
gives also a better meaning: “Make the effort to reflect; for if
thou do, the Lord will give thee the discernment which thou
needest.” (_E. H. Pl... [ Continue Reading ]
_Remember that Jesus Christ, of the __SEED OF DAVID, WAS RAISED FROM
THE DEAD._
“Bear in mind,” the connection seems to be. But, with all its
toils and sufferings, the gospel has also its stores of abounding
consolation. The remembrance of the risen and victorious Saviour is
the comfort and support... [ Continue Reading ]
_Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the
Word of God is not bound._
“THE WORD OF GOD IS NOT BOUND”
The apostle is imprisoned, but his tongue and his companion’s pen
are free. He can still teach those who come to him; can still dictate
letters for others to Luke and the f... [ Continue Reading ]
_I endure all things for the elect’s sake._
God’s chosen ones, whether already in the Church, or to be called
into it afterwards. (_Speaker’s Commentary._)
THE VISIBLE CHURCH FOR THE SAKE OF THE ELECT
If we were asked what was the object of Christian preaching and
instruction, what the office of t... [ Continue Reading ]
_If we be dead with Him, we shall also live with Him._
UNION WITH CHRIST IN DEATH AND LIFE
I. The first branch of this “faithful saying” is, “If we be dead
with Him, we shall also live with Him.” There seem to be two ways
chiefly in which the soul “is dead with Christ.” If we look at the
operation... [ Continue Reading ]
_If we believe not, yet He abideth faithful._
FAITHLESS
“If we are faithless”--that is, untrue to the vows of our
Christian profession, the faithlessness implies more than mere
unbelief in any of the fundamental doctrines of the faith, such as the
resurrection of the Lord or His divinity. (_H. D.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Put them in remembrance._
REPETITION
I. Repetition of the same things is warrantable.
1. For at the first delivery of a thing we may not fully apprehend it;
the eye of our mind is but opened by degrees.
2. Our faith by often repetition may be confirmed.
3. It is a help to cause the truth in th... [ Continue Reading ]
_Study to show thyself approved unto God._
APPROVED
The word which he uses (σπουδάζειν)_ is _one which
scarcely occurs in the New Testament, except in the writings of St.
Paul. And the corresponding substantive is also much more common in
his Epistles than it is elsewhere. It indicates that ceasel... [ Continue Reading ]
_Shun profane and vain babblings._
SHUN
The word rendered “shun” is a strong one, and signifies,
literally, to make a circuit so as to avoid; or as Alford paraphrases
it, “the meaning seems to come from a number of persons falling back
from an object of fear or loathing, and standing at a distance... [ Continue Reading ]
_Their word will eat as doth a canker._
GANGRENE
The substitution of “gangrene” for “cancer” is an improvement,
as giving the exact word used in the original, which expresses the
meaning more forcibly than “cancer.” Cancer is sometimes very slow
in its ravages, and may go on for years without caus... [ Continue Reading ]
_Saying that the resurrection is past already._
ERROR CONCERNING THE RESURRECTION
The resurrection of the body, always a difficulty in ancient modes of
thought, was especially so to those who, with the Essenes amongst the
Jews, the Neo-Platonicians, and most of the early sects which
afterwards expa... [ Continue Reading ]
_The foundation of God standeth sure._
NEVERTHELESS
We should give full force to the μέντοι. If the spirit of the
apostle was perturbed with vain babblings, or cruel mortification, or
the spread of plausible or perilous theories, he required to fall back
upon great and deep principles. (_H. R. Re... [ Continue Reading ]